Graduation Date
Spring 2025
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Forestry, Watershed, & Wildland Sciences
Committee Chair Name
Jeffrey Kane
Committee Chair Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Alan Tepley
Second Committee Member Affiliation
Cal Poly Humboldt Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Eric Knapp
Third Committee Member Affiliation
Community Member or Outside Professional
Keywords
Klamath Mountains, Fire ecology, Fuel recovery, Forest recovery, High severity, Stand replacing, Fire, Fuels
Subject Categories
Forestry
Abstract
High-severity wildfires can produce extensive patches of standing dead trees (snags), which later contribute to surface fuel loading and present a hazard as they decay and fall. In the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California and southwestern Oregon, recent increases in the occurrence of large stand-replacing wildfires have raised concerns about fuel and vegetation recovery trajectories, the likelihood of future fires, and resulting impacts to local communities. Nevertheless, the post-fire environment may offer opportunities to enhance ecological and community resilience. Estimates of snag failure and fuel loading can support land management planning and risk assessment following wildfire, though such work is often constrained by the logistical challenges of broad-scale fuel monitoring.
To examine trends in snag failure and surface fuel accumulation following stand-replacing wildfires in the Klamath Mountains, we sampled 73 unmanaged forest plots along a 25-year time-since-fire chronosequence. Snag fragmentation (fallen crown mass) progressed more rapidly than snag fall (whole-tree failure), with smaller trees and hardwoods fragmenting and falling more rapidly. Trends in surface fuel loading were influenced by pre-fire stand conditions, snag failure dynamics, slope, elevation, and aridity. Fine woody fuels peaked approximately 16 years post-fire, coinciding with 95% completion of snag fragmentation. Coarse woody fuels increased throughout the chronosequence, driven by ongoing snag fall. Litter accumulated steadily, while duff loading sharply increased between 10- and 16-years post-fire. Live woody surface fuels, dominated by resprouting hardwoods, reached maximum surface biomass around 17 years post-fire. Fuel recovery trends observed in this study suggest the likelihood of high-severity reburn is greatest during the second decade following fire. Our findings highlight strategic opportunities for meeting fuels management, forest restoration, and public safety objectives.
Citation Style
Elsevier - Harvard
Recommended Citation
Nicholas, Joseph R., "Snag failure and fuel recovery following stand-replacing fire in the Klamath Mountains" (2025). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 2286.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/2286
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons